From Chef Oonagh Williams of Royal Temptations Catering

Ingredients:

• 3 squares (3 oz.) unsweetened chocolate or 70% dark chocolate
• 3 cups 2% milk
• 3 tbsp. cornstarch
• ¾ cup sugar
• ¼ tsp. salt
• 1 tsp. vanilla

Directions:

1. Melt chocolate and 2 ½ cups of the milk together in a 6-8 cup microwave safe bowl.

2. Mix together sugar, cornstarch and salt in a separate bowl and stir in remaining ½ cup of milk to make a smooth mix.

3. Whisk milk/sugar mix into milk/chocolate mix.

4. Microwave for three cycles of 2 minutes each, stirring with a whisk in between. Then microwave for three cycles of 1 minute a piece, whisking each time until the mixture is bubbling. Time will vary with power of microwave. The bowl will be hot and heavy, so be careful with lifting in and out to stir and taste test mixture.

5. Remove from microwave and stir in vanilla. Pour into ramekins or martini glasses. Serve at room temperature or chilled.

Tips and Alternatives:

I have made this pudding with refrigerated almond milk and with a combination of almond and coconut milks – both with dairy-free and gluten-free semi-sweet chocolate. When using semi-sweet chocolate, I decreased the chocolate to 1/2 cup. I found the flavor to be thinner than with dairy milk and chocolate, but my students were happy.

I have also used the refrigerated gluten-free vanilla and hazelnut creamers. They gave an excellent flavor. I then poured cooked hazelnut chocolate custard into a hazelnut crust following the same recipe as the pecan crust I use for my Chocolate Pecan Indulgence.